Nothing but Trouble and Desire

On November 10 actress Adrienne Shelley age 40 was found hanging in her bathroom in what at first appeared to be suicide. A fine actress who was best known as Hal Hartleys leading lady in Trust and The Unbelievable Truth she was also a celebrated filmmaker in her own life. she was a wife and mother and was adored by many Hartley fans who were heartbroken to hear of her passing, myself included. The story grew increasingly more gruesome as it was later discovered that Adrienne had in fact been murdered by a young workman from the floor below. She had complained about the noise, she had threatened to reveal he was an illegal immigrant. He freaked out and killed her. Just another New York Story I guess.

Trust by Hal Hartley:

Maria (Adrienne Shelley): Did you mean it? Would you marry me?
Matthew (Martin Donovan): Yes.
Maria: Why?
Matthew: Because I want to.
Maria: Not because you love me or anything like that, huh?
Matthew: I respect and admire you.
Maria: Isn't that love?
Matthew: No, that's respect and admiration. I think that's better than love.
Maria: How?
Matthew: When people are in love they do all sorts of crazy things. They get jealous, they lie, they cheat. They kill themselves. They kill each other.
Maria: It doesn't have to be that way.
Matthew: Maybe.
Maria: You'd be the father of a child you know isn't yours.
Matthew: Kids are kids, what does it matter?
Maria: Do you trust me?
Matthew: Do you trust me first?
Maria: I trust you.
Matthew: You sure?
Maria: Yes.
Matthew: Then marry me.
Maria: I'll marry you if you admit that respect, admiration, and trust equals love.
Matthew: OK. They equal love.

the good Christian

God it’s been a busy couple of weeks movie wise. I’ve managed to catch up with Children of Men, Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed and The Devil Wears Prada as well as couple of good Bollywood epics. Tonight I’m trotting off to see The Prestige with the divine Christian Bale and delicious Hugh Jackman which is so very exciting – costume drama, magic, twist ending oh bugger….Scarlett Johansson is in it too. Would it be too much to ask for her character to be killed off early in the piece?

I am one of the legions of geeky Christian Bale fans who enjoy everything he does simply because he is so stupendously good looking. I have the same reaction to him as I think men do to Ms Johansson (hey I never said she wasn’t beautiful – just a bad actress) – he literally makes me week at the knees. It's rediculous isn't it? And as much as we all delight in the Pitts, the Clooneys the Brothers Wilson there is just something about Christian Bale. The camera loves him and so so I.

Hooley Dooley.

Why else would I see the muddled Batman Begins three times? Or say Equilibrium is one of the finest sci-fi movies ever made? Not to mention my devotion to the film version of American Psycho. And despite making my skin crawl in the Machinist I was still compelled to watch it several times. And yes Reign of Fire is terrible, and yes he was only a little kid in Empire of the Sun, and yes Little Women is so sweet you go into a diabetic coma and yes The New World is two hours too long.

Love ‘em all.

So here, fellow geeks is my Top 5 Christian Bale Films

5. Laurel Canyon.
I avoided this film like the plague because of Kate Beckinsale (blech) but caught it last year on tv and just loved it. Bale plays Sam the son of Jane (France McDormand) a famous record producer living in the Hollywood Hills. Sam's forced to move in with mom with his girlfriend Alex (Beckinsale) until they find a new house. Sam goes off to work as a psychiatrist at the local hospital while his girlfriend stays in the house finishing her doctorate. Needless to say his straight living clashes with his mother wilder ways. What could have been a terrible film is really saved by great performances from the three central characters. The great thing is Bale gets to be relatively ‘normal’ and it makes for a nice change. And for those of you that haven’t seen it there is a 5 minute conversation in a car that is sexier than any dodgy sex scene imaginable (I think if you go to youtube and search for ‘laurel canyon car scene’ you should be able to view it).

4.Batman Begins
This isn’t a really fantastic film. Having just watched it yet again last week (hey it was on, what can I say? It was that or read a book). But good lord he wears those suits very well (both Armani and Bat). I never loved Batman as much as I loved Superman and certainly all the film versions have left me pretty cold but Christian Bale is perfectly cast (shame about the rest of them.. Katie Holmes as an assistant D.A – ridiculous).

Equilibrium.
Alright I’ll some out and say it. This is only for the geekiest of the geeks, the rest of you will absolutely hate it. Set in a fascist future where feeling anything has become illegal (like an extreme version of 1984) Bale plays a ‘cleric’ – an almost superhuman government agent who can ‘sense’ when people are emotional and promptly kills them. When forced to kill his partner (Sean Bean) he starts to question the regime and stops taking the government prescribed medication. As feelings creep in he becomes part of the resistance…you get the idea. It is hot as hell! This film is just as close to sci-fi girl geek porn (is that a genre or a sub genre?) as you can get. phew.

American Psycho
Bale of course was the perfect Patrick Batemen. He buffed his body until it was a shiny toy for director Mary Harron to play with. I saw this at its Film Festival premiere. I sat in the third row surrounded by boys and I loved every minute of it. It holds up well and elevates the book in as much as it is more obviously satire. It captured the brutality but also the humour. And again, the man wears it very very well…

The Prestige
I just know this is going to be my number 1. Read my review later on this week. But let me tell you I have watched the preview plenty of times. Even if Johansonn is in it.

Oh well one for the girls and one for the boys…


Looking forward to Harsh Times, Rescue Dawn and I’m Not There and yes The Dark Knight in 2008!